Alice Munro (pictured) has won the third Man Booker International Prize. Not to be confused with the annual Man Booker Prize, the Man Booker International Prize is worth £60,000 to the winner and is awarded once every two years to a living author for a body of work that has contributed to an achievement in […]

The room filled mostly with couples, leaning toward each other across tables, enclosed in their own spheres of candelit intimacy. Fingers reaching toward fingers, or flying through the air, drawing the shape of a story. Caught in the dense foliage of an intensely busy time recently, The School of Essential Ingredients, a first novel by […]

Outback novels, in truth, have been few and far between on the bookshelves of my life, let alone one of ‘love, intrigue and redemption’, so I was very keen to start this debut tale by Fleur McDonald, an Aussie mum and farm veteran living on the land in Western Australia. Being a die-hard urbanista, I […]

“What if your boyfriend died right in front of you…” When I first picked up this debut novel by Irish writer and comedian, Anna McPartlin, I scanned the beautiful photograph on the very sentimental cover, flipped to the back cover for more heartfelt prose and instantly knew I was in for a weepy, touching account […]

For her second novel, Melbourne based author Fran Cusworth revisited the year she followed her husband to a mining town on the south west coast of Australia. Although a work of fiction, the story of three very different women who follow their husbands to Hopetoun, was inspired by Cusworth’s personal experience of a small community […]

With so many demands on our time and energy, coupled with obligations and family commitments, it’s not always easy to find quality time doing what we would otherwise like to do. If you find yourself in complete neglect of your own needs and desires, according to her new book, The Art of Extreme Self-Care: Transform […]

Completely up-to-date for Australian and New Zealand readers, Starting an Online Business For Dummies provides support and expert advice needed to build an online empire — whether starting out from scratch or expanding an existing business online. It also includes strategies to identify the right market for the business, how to promote the site online […]

At the age of 39, I figured I had about 10 years before I personally needed to read a book on menopause. But as my job also requires that I review books that may be of interest to women, I recently spent some time getting acquainted with The Secret Pleasures of Menopause by Christiane Northrup […]

To Hellas and Back is the true story of one woman’s four year Greek Odyssey for love. Lana Penrose subtitled her book, ‘My modern-day Greek tragedy’, but it soon becomes clear to the reader that Penrose was being facetious, as this very funny book does not read like any Greek tragedy I’ve ever read! During […]

Book of the Month: February 2009 The public’s appetite for ChicLit may have peaked somewhere around 2004, but the genre that gave us the flawed but much loved heroine of the 1990’s, continues to influence the work of both new and established authors of popular fiction. In her debut novel, Australia’s Lisa Heidke (pictured) serves up […]

On January 12 1836, Charles Darwin stood about the deck of the tiny brig HMS Beagle as it made its way into Sydney Cove. The observations he was to make during his journey around the young Australian colony would contribute to his thinking about evolution – the theory through which he would come to change […]

Denise Scott (pictured) is a well-loved Melbourne based stand-up comedian, actor and radio and TV personality. She has appeared regularly on TV shows such as Full Frontal, The Today Show and The Big Gig, and was the breakfast host at Melbourne radio station Vega FM for 3 years and is currently a regular on Spicks+Specks […]

With the recent events on Wall St, the prospect of economic uncertainty is foremost in the minds of many. Dr John F. Demartini, human behavioural specialist, philosopher and best selling author of several best selling books, including HOW TO MAKE ONE HELL OF A PROFIT AND STILL GET TO HEAVEN, spoke to Australian Women Online about […]

In 1996, just a week before Christmas and after a life long struggle with mental illness, a woman named Jacqueline killed herself at the age of fifty. Tragically, her body remained undiscovered in the small Melbourne flat where she lived alone, for more than a fortnight – the exact date of her death remains a […]

Author and US media personality David Seaman details in a new book, Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz, how anyone can become the mainstream media’s latest flavour of the month. In Dirty Little Secrets of Buzz: How to attract massive attention for your business, your product, or yourself, veteran PR stunt-planner David Seaman brings a fresh […]

Angus & Robertson, Central Book Services and On Demand Books has announced the launch of the first Espresso Book Machine (EBM) in Australia to be installed in a retail environment. The machine is located in Angus & Robertson’s Bourke Street store in Melbourne. The EBM allows customers to print perfect bound books while they wait. […]

Respected Australian demographer, Bernard Salt, says there is an increasing difference between the supply of men and women in one of the key reproductive age groups in Australia. In 1976 Australia had 54,000 more men than women aged in their thirties, but by 2006 the excess of young men had turned into a deficit of […]

Bob Carr will today launch a new series of books entitled Little Books on Big Themes at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney at 5pm. All of the distinguished writers in this first series will be in attendence including Germaine Greer, Blanche d’Alpuget, Barrie Kosky and David Malouf. Published by Melbourne University Publishing this […]

KATE MORTON (pictured) made headlines in 2006 when the advance rights sales to her debut novel, The Shifting Fog, published in the UK as The House at Riverton, hit the million-dollar mark. Last month Kate released her second novel, The Forgotten Garden, an even more intricate tale of suspense involving a beautiful Victorian authoress, dark […]

In this her fifth collection of poetry, award-winning poet Karen Knight captures with disarming skill, sensitivity and piercing black humour her experiences as an inmate at the Royal Derwent Psychiatric Hospital (RDH) in 1969. Postcards from the Asylum arises from Knight’s resolve to come to terms with being sent to live at the RDH as […]

A new book which aims to dispel myths and misconceptions associated with the role of women in Islam will be launched today by the Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services, Laurie Ferguson. The book titled “Did you Know? Refuting rigid interpretations concerning the position of women in Islam, and Muslims’ interactions with non-Muslims” […]

International best selling author, Jodi Picoult has become renowned for asking the hard questions in relation to contemporary American society. In her latest book, Change of Heart, Picoult tackles the death penalty in the United States, using a cast of unforgettable characters to unravel what is essentially a very complex issue. Of course, no discussion […]